Leave All Thoughts of Life You Knew Before
by phantomluver4ever1
Summary: Meg remembers the night she went looking for the Phantom in his domain, finding a broken man who was about to flee. A promise was made that he would return to her and would take her with him next time. Will Meg still be waiting?


Darkness blankets over Paris, suffocating daylight for a short, but sweet while. Rain falls down from the heavens and runs down a windowpane. A chilly breeze sneaks through the cracks into her room. It is dark and would seem vacant if one did not see a small, slim figure lying in bed. The coldness biting her skin awakes her. She slowly climbs out of bed pushing back the hair from her face. Her small feet, lightly touches the floor as she sneaks to her vanity. She lights a candle and slowly pulls open a drawer. There it was, as it always had been. His mask. Meg Giry let her trembling hands take the mask from its place, to let it lie on the vanity. She knew the mask had called to her, luring her into his bedroom, waiting for her, and then it had lead her to him. Oh she remembered perfectly, every detail.

_They had all entered his lair transfixed by the masterpiece that lied before there eyes. Riches they had never seen, artwork from all over the world. It was a sight that captured all their hearts even if it belonged to the man they were after. Meg stopped; loosing her breath at the beauty the Phantom had created by his extraordinary hands; hands Meg longed to be touched by like Christine had been touched during the Phantoms' and hers' entwining duet. Hearing the echoes of the police and the rest of the mob behind her, Meg continued closer to the artistic domain. An unknown magic seemed to push her up the steps into his magnificent bedroom. She had been ready to say she had come for him. She had been ready to say she would be his and to forget about Christine, but everything she was about to say, died on her lips, when she found the room empty. Her eyes caught sight of his mask; the mask that had been a part of her dreams for years now. She timidly walked closer and closer to lifeless disguise, knowing he was gone. For a few moments she kneeled there, holding onto the mask, trying to fight back the many tears that threaten to spill. The mob was coming closer. She had to leave before they saw her with his mask. Meg hid it in her shirt and walked down the steps to find everyone rummaging through his things. The blood- thirsty drive in all of them seemed to die and be replaced with greed. No one seemed to notice Meg slip behind the curtain and disappear into the night._

_She had searched for him in a complex maze of passageways. The mask burned her skin, telling her to move on. For hours she searched until somehow she reached a door. Brushing away the spider webs, Meg moved closer to the door. The knob was cool on her skin, giving her an unwelcoming feeling. She let the door creek open before craning out her neck to see what lied behind it. Her breath caught in her throat. There he was sitting in a throne-like chair sobbing. Her heart ached for this man. She tip-toed to him, but stop when she heard his thundering voice, "Go home Marguerite Giry. I have nothing to offer you." She gasped. How had he known it was she? He looked up, wiping the tears that were falling. He stood up, tall and mighty. He began to walk towards her, trying to make her tremble in fear, but Meg stood her ground. _

"_How did you know it was me?" She asked softly, looking past his deformity, straight in the deep pools of his emerald green eyes. _

"_I knew you would find me somehow. You always have. Have you come to laugh at me now? Are you here to say 'I told you so', or how about 'Why didn't you just listen to me and stay away from Christine'?" Meg kept silent. It was better to be quiet than to try and argue with him. She knew Erik too well. Their years of friendship and her years of longing for him, made her understand Erik better than anyone else. _

"_Where will you go now?" She asked. He sighed and turned around. Walking to the single candle that lit the room. _

"_Away from here. Away from France, Away from her." Meg said nothing. Her heart was shattering. He was leaving. _

"_May I come with you," She asked; hope shinning in her eyes. _

_He smiled sadly at her, wishing he could take her with him, but knowing it was too dangerous. "No, Meg, you must stay here." _

"_You promised me I could go anywhere you go. You promised you would never leave me." She whined. Erik closed his eyes trying to block out the hurt in her voice. "I can't let you go," she whispered brushing her hand onto his. He looked down at her hand touching his and then slowly let his eyes travel up to hers. Her tears were flowing down her cheeks. She looked beautiful, as she always had and always will. Her hair was in disarray and the trousers she wore tugged onto her perfectly shaped thighs. Her shirt hid the bold breast that men could not tear their eyes from. Meg's eyes shown with tears and her cheeks were pink from the excursion coming here. She squeezed his hand sending him back to the present. He pulled back a fallen lock of hair from her face. She had been good to him throughout all the years of their friendship; showing a kindness that no one had ever showed him. She had never obeyed him and always talked back. She was as stubborn as a mule, but that was what made her different. _

_His eyes followed her hands as she gently lifted his to her lips. She could feel his hands tremble, but she did not dare to look into his eyes. More tears slipped down her face and onto his hands. "I know you don't love me the way you love Christine. I understand that I can never replace her in your eyes. You can tell me that all there was between us was friendship, but you and I both know there was more. There is a passion between us, Erik, even if you don't want to see it, it will always be there. When I was only sixteen I gave you my most precious possession. My innocence and so did you. I gave you my body willingly and I have throughout the years. I think this passion scares you and I must admit it sometimes scares me too. Even if you leave tonight without me, our memories will never die, the passion will never die." Erik said nothing, for what could he say to her? She was right. There was a passion between them that they had been unable to stop. Through out the years their hunger for one another was uncontrollable. They had tried to stop it numerous times, but in the end someone would come back and their passion was release. She made him feel like a true man. She made the emptiness go away. _

"Wait for me?" He asked her, lightly kissing her forehead. She had nodded while trying to fight back the many tears that threaten to spill. Her eyes never left the spot where she had last seen him, until the candle finally went out and all was silent. That was when Marguerite Giry the brave little ballerina could not be brave any longer; fell to her knees crying her heart out.

"Will you ever stop weeping over the memories Meg Giry?" Her whole body froze like a statue at the sound of the all too familiar voice. She turned around to find a tall figure standing next to her balcony door. He removed the hood from his face. He was soaking wet, but he showed no discomfort. His face was hidden by the shadows, but she knew who it was.

"Have you come back for your mask, Erik? I thought you despised this thing?" She replied, the ice in her tone. He chuckled and walked towards her. She turned around only to watch him through the mirror. Her hands were shaking. She gulped as he let a handful of hair run through his gloved fingers.

"Not a way to welcome an old friend, Meg. You should know better than that." He bent down, letting cheek rest against cheek. She sat perfectly still. "What has happened to you Meg? You are not the same girl I had once known."

She sat up abruptly moving towards the balcony. She was angry, but blissful to see him alive and well. It was hard to believe that five years ago, she opened the door finding him crying his heart out for the woman he had loved and lost. She had begged him to take her with him, but he refused. For weeks she cursed him and then would burry her head in her pillow sobbing, whispering, _'I love you Erik. Why can't you love me,'_ over and over again. "You change after five years. Besides I am not a girl anymore. I am a woman." Meg looked out the window watching the rain falling heavily. She pressed her head against the cold glass, closing her eyes. She had not seen or heard Erik come behind her. Before Meg could even protest he wrapped his arms around her and began kissing her neck. Her mind told her to pull away. Scream. Call for help. Her heart whispered no. She could never resist this man. No matter how much she tried. "Erik please do not do this? This will only lead us into my bed and I can't bare the thought of waking up to find you gone like always."

"You don't have to. Come away with me, Meg. See the world with me." He said placing light kisses on her shoulder.

"I can't," she whispered.

"What do you mean you can't? I told you if you waited I would take you with me." He turned Meg around to have her look him in the eye. "Before I was not ready to have you come with me. Christine had broken my heart. I could not even think of loving another. It seemed impossible to move on, but now I have moved on. I need you Meg, I need you." She buried her face into his chest crying. He was confused, but still held her tightly. The tears she had kept inside poured out. She had missed him so much. She had longed for him for so long. After two years she had thought he was either dead or he had forgotten about her.

When she was able to look up at him her eyes were red from tears, and her nose puffy. She was as beautiful as ever, still making him ache for her. "I can't Erik. Like I said 'you change after five years'. When you left I cried for months. I hated you yet loved you all at the same time. I couldn't even think of loving another. My heart had flown away with you. For a long time I didn't understand why I could not have been the one you loved so deeply, but after awhile I accepted it and so I moved on. See." She held up her left hand to show a sparkling diamond attached to a gold band wrapped around her finger. He stepped back, taking a deep breath. She wasn't his anymore. "Do not think for a moment that I do not love you anymore. I waited for three years, but I grew up from that childish dream that you would come back for me. I thought you would be my knight in shining armor, rescuing me from a tower, but I realized that only happens in fairytales. Even if you did come back, I knew that your heart would forever truly belong to Christine and in a way her heart will belong to you too." He walked away from her, unable to speak, unable to breathe. "I understand if you think ill of me now, but I do not regret my decision. My husband is a good man Erik. He has done nothing, but cared and loved me. He is…" Her words died on her lips. The expression on his face killed her inside.

"Do you love him?" His voice sounded abnormally calm.

"Yes, but not the same way I love you. My love for him could never compare to my love for you," She clasped her hands around his, holding them close to her lips, but she did not kiss them. "Erik I have always wanted your love, but you told me never to ask for it. So many times I wanted to, but I never did because I could not bare the thought of rejection. Those nights we spent together still haunts my dreams. My body still desires it…" She now kissed his hands, "but now it is too late." More tears streamed down her face. Her heart craved to cling onto him and never let go. She wanted more than anything to leave everything she knew behind just for this one man who could make her feel like she was on fire just by a single touch.

"No Meg, no its not too late," He pulled away his hands only to touch her cheeks. He continuously kissed her face, taking in her sweetness. When he saw confusion on her face he continued, "Come away with me. We can leave Paris; leave France. No one will no- where we are going. Please Meg, please. Do not make me walk this earth alone." Erik had only felt desperate twice before. When trying to escape the gypsies and having Christine stay with him. It was a feeling he hated, a feeling of weakness. Meg made him feel so weak yet so strong.

At first Meg did not speak. She turned away. She wrapped her arms around her body, letting tears flow down her face. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Come with me," she whispered. Her hand reached out for him. He cautiously looked at her. "There is something I want to show you." Reluctantly he took her small hand into his and let her lead him out of the bedroom down the hall, only the candle that was held in her hand lead them through the dark. They came to a door. He watched as silent as she could manage to open the door to a room that was only lit by the moonlight. 'Keep following me' she mouthed. They stepped over the threshold. Erik's eyes roamed over the large room with things scattered all over the floor. He didn't know which room this was and why Meg had taken him there. He gazed at her as she turned on lamps. His eyes then rested on a white crib for the first time. He understood. The things scattered on the floor were child's toys. Blue paint covered the walls and white curtains draped over the windows. Another balcony like in Meg's room stood at the other end with a rocking chair next to it.

Meg's eyes grew bright as she tiptoed towards the sleeping infant. She scooped him into her arms, careful not to wake him. Erik stepped back as she came towards him with the baby in her arms. "Come here Erik, I want you to meet my son," She whispered. Hesitantly he came to her staring at her as she gazed lovingly at her son. "Would you like to hold him?" Before he could protest the baby was in his arms. He felt awkward with such a tiny thing in his arms. The child was so small with blond hair like his mothers. He had her nose and possessed her mouth. The rest of his features he guessed belonged to his father. "He'll be a week old tomorrow. His sister will be two next May. Her name is Emma."

"And his?" He asked still looking at the child.

"Erik." His eyes shot up to bore into hers. He searched her eyes to see if she was teasing, but showed no signs of amusement. She stepped towards him reaching out for the child. "I wanted a son to name after the man who forever changed my world. The man who I have loved with all my heart. My husband does not know this reason, but rather likes the name so we both agreed on naming him that." Meg laid her son back into his crib, kissing him on the forehead before turning back to look at Erik. "This is why I can not possibly leave. I have my own family now; a family that I adore and would break my heart if I ever left them. Erik you know I love you. Two years ago I would have followed you to the end of the world just to be with you, but now it is impossible. I do not regret what I have done, though my heart is aching at seeing the misery on your face." Erik held his breath as Meg came to him. Her hand gently reached out for him caressing the unmasked side of his cheek. He stepped toward her, closing the space between them, pulling her body to his. Hungrily he sought her lips relishing in the sweetness of her mouth before he reluctantly pulled away. She smiled sadly at him.

He straighten his jacket, standing tall and powerful. He was still the man that made Meg yearn for more than anything in the entire world. He was exciting yet frightening. But by his touch, she was frightened no longer. The thoughts of those breathtaking nights caused Meg to shiver. "I must go," Erik's voice was hoarse. He left the room, walking down the hallway towards Meg's room. He was almost to the balcony when he heard her voice.

"Erik." It was a plea for him to look at her. Tears were cascading down her face. She ran into his arms holding him tightly. "I love you." She whispered into his chest. This was the moment. This was the chance to tell her those three words that his heart was screaming and the words Meg was waiting to hear. A lump was in his throat. He couldn't speak. He was mute.

"Goodbye Meg," was all he said. His voice was cold. His face showed no emotion. He kissed her forehead and turned his face before she could see the tears flowing down his cheeks. That was the last time Meg saw him. The cape blowing in the wind lightly and a similar mask as the one that laid on her vanity. In the blink of an eye, the dark figure of the man was gone forever.


End file.
